


Festive x and x Mischief

by olivemeister



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, M/M, Mistletoe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-12 06:53:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9060766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/olivemeister/pseuds/olivemeister
Summary: Killua would have been thoroughly enjoying the Christmas party being held in the Freecss' family home. Everyone in the room is a friend he'd sorely missed, and the holiday was a happy chance to catch up together. There was only one problem - his paranoid understanding that somewhere, hidden within the decorations, was a social landmine.Eventually, though, he comes to appreciate it. Non-established Killugon, relationship shenanigans delightedly ensue. Hints at Senritsu/Kurapika/Leorio (the holy trinity), but you can take it any way you want.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This was so last-minute that I started it last night and finished it in the car on the way to my grandma's house for Christmas. As a result, I slacked hardcore on reviewing it. Hopefully there's no catastrophes besides the funny ones in the fic itself!

In all honesty, Killua knew he’d spend most of the evening in a state of anxiety. They could be, in reality, everywhere. Not just the people. He could accept being in a room full of people. Being in a room full of people was just fine to him.

No. That thing was certainly in the room somewhere, hidden away and with only a few people aware of it. It was tucked away somewhere, where a poor sap could stumble upon it knowing nothing. He wouldn’t be that fool. There was one out in the open, at least to his eyes. It was a trick, for the sake of false reassurance. There had to be at least one other, hidden more skillfully. That thing, in a state of simultaneous existence and nonexistence, Schrodinger’s berry cluster.

Mistletoe.

The one in the doorway was, of course, an obvious trap. He’d danced his way through, pressing up against the door frame so that his head wouldn’t pass under the disgusting thing. In the past, Killua had tasted it – one of the many poisons his family had slipped into him as a child. Faintly sweet, but drowned out in such face-twisting bitterness that he’d almost thrown up from the taste alone. It was awful. There had been things that were worse, but there had been a special level of betrayal that had come with mistletoe. After all, they were berries. Killua hadn’t suspected it. It wasn’t like his mother had fed him nothing but poison all his life. And he was over it, really.

He just would _not_ allow himself to be caught under that stupid kissing plant.

The party had been a joint effort, one that had surprised him. Until he’d left home, Killua had never realized that in most parts of the world, Christmas was in fact a social and familial celebration primarily. It had been so for him as well, but there had always been that undertone of romance in his parents’ interactions, one that had been blatant and sickening to him as a child. Of course seeing his parents flirting had been gross, though. Even much older, it was still gross to think about. Killua scowled, continuing his cautious patrol of the room.

Alluka was locked in a cheerful conversation, and he didn’t want to interrupt it. It was nice for Alluka to get the chance to talk to another girl, even if that girl was Bisky. Though it felt so odd in retrospect, Killua found himself hoping Palm or Senritsu would be able to come. He tried his best for Alluka’s sake, but the fact of the matter was that making friends with women didn’t come easily to him, and it felt good to know that despite his shortcoming, she’d be able to socialize here with plenty. Instead of butting in, Killua only nodded vaguely at Bisky and continued to make his way to the bar’s counter.

Garlands arched down from the ceiling, streamers made of beads and popcorn and fake pine needles adorned with lights. There could be mistletoe in them, Killua thought, running his eyes across them. It was a genuine struggle, because what he really wanted to do was go out and talk to everyone. But someone had had the bright idea of putting up mistletoe out in the open, and even if they hadn’t he would have thought it was there anyway. He didn’t know who it was, but if he did Killua thought he might like to rip their lips off.

Not everyone was there, of course. It seemed like Gon had been in charge of inviting people, so by the time the evening really got going there would be dozens of guests. The biggest concern was gathering them all in one place. Killua wondered if Mito knew how many people Gon had certainly invited, how many plane tickets he’d bought. Where would they all stay? Did the island have enough hotel rooms? All Killua knew was that he and Alluka had been the first to arrive, a few days in advance. They’d spent the night before lining the house with decorations. On Whale Island there was no snow and it wasn't even cold enough for coats, but it didn’t mean they couldn’t celebrate. It was Christmas, or close enough, so the weather didn’t really matter.

“Killua!” Gon’s voice was bright, and Killua found himself smiling automatically. The eager way Gon dashed over to him, his eyes seeming to sparkle, made Killua glance up at the ceiling to make sure there wasn’t a berry bomb hanging from the garland above his head. He’d put that one up, so it had best not have been tampered with. Gon had two cups in his hand, both of them clearly some sort of juice, and Killua took the one Gon held out without any hesitance. “Everyone else should be getting here soon.”

“Nice,” Killua said immediately, and it was completely genuine. It would be nice to see everyone he’d missed, after a while of not meeting. Even if he didn’t know how the evening would end, what with Mito’s fully-stocked bar being a central part of the party. It probably wasn’t a concern, but he wasn’t sure. They were too young to drink, and Mito would be keeping a mother’s eye out to keep anything from getting into their hands. But there were more than enough adults present already, even if Mito’s drinks probably wouldn’t pack much of a punch. It was a party, after all. He didn’t think the woman would let them all get smashed, even if they were of legal drinking age.

Vaguely, Killua wondered if Kite counted as an adult. He certainly didn’t look it anymore, about the same height as he was and a little taller than Gon. After being reborn, Kite had grown at an uncanny rate, but it seemed to have slowed down to something closer to normal for a human being around pubescence. Even with the different appearance and voice, Kite seemed to be mostly unchanged as a person.

It was then that Killua realized Gon was talking, and he slapped his mind back into attentiveness.

“So even though Kurapika is going to be a little late, I think it’ll be okay! Leorio said he’s definitely going to make sure he gets here, and I trust Leorio.” Gon scratched the back of his neck, glancing over towards the bar where Kite was locked in a quiet conversation with Mito. There was definitely some degree of nervousness there, and Killua snorted. It felt like he was looking at a kid trying to make sure his parents were getting along. He couldn’t help grinning maliciously over it.

“What, afraid mom and dad are talking shit about you?” Gon’s eyes flicked back to him, and the other boy flashed him a beaming smile. It made him want to shield his eyes. Gon was, as always, simply too bright.

“Isn’t that weird? I was kinda thinking the same thing. Well, not that they’re saying bad things about me, I’m not worried about that.” Of course he wasn’t. He had complete faith in both of them, and seemed at least subconsciously aware of how much they loved and doted on him. Gon rubbed his thumb against the plastic cup, looking as if he’d laugh any moment. Killua smiled again, softer this time. It was a funny mental image, but he thought it was one that was okay. Gon’s parents, a stubborn woman not yet in her thirties and an age and gender ambiguous Chimera Ant. “I mean, Kite doesn’t look the same anymore, but I thought it sort of felt like he and Mito-san were my mom and dad. Er… if Ging wasn’t my dad, and if… Well, I don’t think they like each other that way anyway. So maybe it’s like they’re divorced?”

“Dunno. Can someone who was born like a year ago get married _and_ divorced?” Gon pursed his lips, looking down at his feet. Killua wondered if the question had been insensitive. It was easy to forget, because Gon was so cheerful once more. He’d bounced back admirably from a mind-boggling trauma, but part it was still in there somewhere. Killua didn’t know how deep Gon had packed it down, nor how hard it would be to dig it back up and start to actually mend what had been shattered. “Ah, forget i-”

“That’s actually a good question,” Gon said slowly, bringing his knuckles up to his mouth. Killua furrowed his brow, squinting at Gon in confusion. It had absolutely not been a good question – that had been the point of the crack. “I mean, it makes me think of a good question. Do you think Kite’s license still works, or will he have to get a new one?”

Killua felt his mouth fall open, and then he covered it with one hand. It _was_ a good question. Did Kite even have the same nen as before his death? Palm’s nen had remained unchanged, but she had been altered, not reborn. He thought he remembered something about hunter licenses being tied to their owner’s nen, but he didn’t know if it was something he’d actually been told or just a theory he’d come up with. “I mean, he’s a war hero isn’t he? I bet the Chairman probably waived whatever restriction there was so his card would work, or maybe she just issued him a new one.”

“Oh, that makes sense! I wonder which it is?” Gon bobbed a little as he thought about it, faintly bouncing like he had too much energy and it was simply leaking out. “Well, I’m just gonna go ask!”

“Yeah, go for it. There’s no point in wondering when he’s right here.” Killua paused, reaching out to snag Gon by the collar before he could simply bolt towards the bar. “Don’t tell him we were talking about it, just ask.”

“I don’t think he’ll mind if we were talking about it,” Gon said doubtfully, before nodding. Killua sighed, letting go of Gon’s shirt again. He didn’t understand, but Gon didn’t need to understand for him to just not bring it up. Killua ran a hand through his hair as Gon walked away from him, before stopping himself from making it even wilder and fluffier. He met Mito's eyes briefly, wondering what her grandmother - Gon's great grandmother - was up to. She, Mito, and Gon had baked up a storm the night before, with himself and Alluka banished to the table where they couldn't get in the way. But Abe had declined to be a part of the festivities, citing her age. Killua suspected that the woman just wanted a quiet evening, and she was certainly not going to get one here.

Chatter was coming from the doorway, most of it too quiet for him to discern whose voices it was. But one of them was more than loud enough, and that told Killua quite clearly exactly who was about to walk in. With some eagerness, Killua drained the juice – it was actually apple cider – in one massive gulp, dropping it in one of what had to be half a dozen trash cans spread across the floor.

“Hey, Merry Christmas,” he said as soon as Ikalgo had crossed through the door frame, and the way the Ant’s face broke into a smile had him grinning wildly as well. “Been a while!”

“You don’t say,” Ikalgo replied, and for a moment he looked strangely misty-eyed. An odd surge of emotion flooded him, and Killua let out a laugh. It had been months since Killua had seen him, just like the rest of the group pouring into the room. It was Knuckle’s laughter that he’d heard, boisterous and booming. By contrast, Shoot, Meleoron, and Palm were quiet as mice. Knuckle had a basket under one arm, filled with what looked like bags of festive popcorn and cookies.

“Oh my,” Palm said, bringing one hand to her cheek. She actually looked very nice, Killua silently admitted to himself. Somehow, after being turned into an Ant, she seemed so much brighter and healthier. There had been a little bit of a silver lining to that horrific incident, he supposed. Not for the first time, he wondered how they’d all walked away from it with their sanity mostly intact. “It’s lovely in here, isn’t it?”

“Thanks,” Killua said immediately, and the distraction of looking at Palm was just long enough for him to fail to notice Knuckle’s arm as it descended around his shoulder and yanked him in. Grunting in surprise, he scrabbled at Knuckle’s forearm to prevent the man from cutting his air off in his enthusiasm. “Ah, dammit!”

“What, you don’t want a hug?” Knuckle’s grip on him loosened only a little, and Killua sighed as he tried to squirm his way out without breaking Knuckle’s arm. The commotion attracted Gon’s attention away from wherever his conversation with Kite had gone, and the other boy’s face lit up eagerly. Killua knew instinctively in that moment that Gon was going to spend the evening ping-ponging from person to person. He was the common ground between everyone there, after all. They’d all showed up for Gon, himself included. “Yo, Gon! Come here!”

Knuckle didn’t need to say it – Gon was already on the move. It gave Killua the chance to lift Knuckle’s arm up and duck out from under it, scrambling away so that Gon could perhaps take his place. Knuckle pushed the basket into Gon’s hands, before snagging him to ruffle his hair almost aggressively. That was probably fine, really. Gon had a higher tolerance for that kind of thing than he did – it was only Gon himself and Alluka that could get away with doing things like that.

“Oh, snacks! Thanks, Knuckle! Merry Christmas!”

“S’from the boss,” Knuckle said easily, letting go of Gon in favor of rifling through his pockets. Neither Knov nor Morel would be attending, it seemed. Letting out a satisfied grunt, Knuckle pulled out a slip of paper and handed it to Gon. A note or card, then. Killua shrugged his shoulders even though no one was looking at him, and padded off to let Gon sort it all out.

To his surprise, Palm followed him. For a few steps Killua didn’t comment, feeling his cheeks redden as he attempted to figure out what to even say. The last time Palm had seen him, he’d been sobbing his heart out in a hospital. In fact, he had a bad track record of Palm seeing him as a crying mess. He kept his eyes on the ceiling instead, still on guard for what could be hanging over his head at any point. Palm wasn’t a bad person, and she was much more stable and happy now, and Killua really, really did not want to kiss her.

“Someone’s put up mistletoe by the door,” he said finally, shoving his hands in his pockets in a way that had to look particularly sullen. Palm only hummed in response, almost as if she’d expected it to be there. But then, it _was_ a Christmas party. “No one saw it while you were under there, I guess. I don’t know who thought it was a good idea, but keep an eye out. Uh, unless there’s someone here you wanna kiss, in which case… go for it, I guess?”

“I think I’ll be fine,” Palm murmured, but there was an undertone of amusement in her voice. If Knov had been there, maybe she would have been more keen about it. Killua didn’t know what the status of that particular situation was, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to. Thinking of Knov and Palm kissing made his face scrunch up in disgust. “Thank you for the warning, though. You haven’t been caught yourself, have you?”

“No way, gross. You think I’d just let someone kiss me?” Scowling, Killua turned his gaze towards Palm. She was smiling at him in a way that he wasn’t sure he was comfortable with. It felt almost knowing, but he didn’t know what she thought she knew. “There’s probably another one somewhere, I just haven’t found it yet. I will, though. Anyway, that’s Gon’s mom that Kite’s talking to. Gon totally thinks they’re gonna get married, probably.”

“Really?” That genuinely sparked Palm’s attention, and Killua immediately regretted the joke. She didn’t have the context to know for certain that it _was_ a joke, and Palm had such a pure, genuine, and baffling investment in romance. “He’s never mentioned her before, have they known each other long?”

“They’ve never met before tonight,” Killua said bluntly, and Palm sighed at him in something that was probably mild annoyance. A hand tugged at the back of his shirt, and when he turned it was to face Alluka, who was fidgeting with her half-empty cup. “Hey, you need something?”

“No,” Alluka replied, a little nervously. Killua realized immediately what was happening there, and he grinned comfortingly. She thought Palm was pretty and wanted to talk to her. He didn’t know how he’d managed to get the cutest little sister in the world.

“Alluka, I told you about Palm, right? Palm, this is Alluka, she’s my little sister.” Killua tugged Alluka closer to him, putting his arm around her shoulders to pat her head easily. It made her beam with something that had to be pride, and the look on Palm’s face was surprisingly endearing. She seemed a little stunned, her lips parting as she looked at them. He wondered if it was that odd for her to see him being physically affectionate with someone besides Gon.

“Oh, of _course_ you are! Look at you, you have the same nose and everything.” He was suddenly positive that Palm was an only child. Out of everyone in the room, were they the only ones who weren’t? Mito and Kite were certainly only children, but he genuinely didn’t know about anyone but Gon. Though, technically, wasn’t every Chimera Ant on the continent Palm’s sibling? Killua pushed the thought away as too annoying.

“Cute, right? She’s basically the best little sister in the whoooole world.”

“Onii-chan!” Alluka covered her mouth with her sleeve, flushing a rosy pink. He knew she was hiding a smile, and it was the only reason he didn’t relent.

“What, you are. Anyway, do you want me to get you some more juice?” Maybe it was a little transparent, but he didn’t really care. After everything that had happened, he would trust Palm with his life – which meant he’d trust her with Alluka for at _least_ twenty minutes time. Any more than that, he wasn’t sure. “Here, I’ll go ask Mito-san for some more.”

“Okay,” Alluka said hesitantly, her gaze flicking between him and Palm. She handed him the cup, clearly trying to figure out how to say what she wanted to say. “U-um! My onii-chan told me that you fought really hard, and kept him safe, and I wanted t-to say! Thank you very much, for helping him!”

Killua felt his ears heat, and he turned away immediately so that Palm couldn’t see how abruptly flustered he was. He hadn’t expected Alluka to just give him away like that, but it seemed like she’d really wanted to say it. If he defended himself by saying that he hadn’t said it in such stark terms, it would only make it more embarrassing. Palm’s voice sounded a little strange when she answered, and he didn’t want to think too hard about it.

“Killua told you that, did he?”

“He did! Well, I understood what he meant.” That had Palm laughing, and Killua knew it would be okay. He wondered how easy he was to read, if Palm knew that his excuse to leave them alone was now practically him fleeing the scene of his impending mortification. The fact that he was embarrassed by it seemed silly. Palm had saved his life, the same as half the people in the room, and he’d returned the favor for just as many. Admitting it should have been something he could do with pride. Instead, he made his way to the bar in a manner that could be best described as “slinking”, and tried not to dwell.

“Hi Mito-san,” Killua mumbled, knowing he was still blushing. He set Alluka’s cup on the bar top, looking at his hands instead of meeting her eyes. There were several pitchers of different drinks there, spaced between bowls of snacks. Chips, pretzels, several plates of cookies, and an unholy amount of popcorn. There were more snacks across the room on their own table, veggie platters and olives and cheeses that he was far less inclined to touch. “Uh, Alluka… Could you, um, get her some more juice? Please.”

“Of course I can,” Mito said easily, taking the cup out of his hand before patting it gently. For some reason, the small gesture was immensely comforting, and Killua felt the tension drain out of him. Mito was basically a professional mother, he thought. Gon said she could be strict, and he believed it. But compared to his own family, she was a saint. “Would you like something, Killua?”

“I’m good.” His face felt less hot, and he shrugged his shoulders at Mito. Gon’s sudden laughter made him turn to look at the other boy, just in time to see Meleoron fade from sight as Shoot and Knuckle stared up at the mistletoe that had just been pointed out. Killua couldn’t help nodding approvingly at how quickly Meleoron had reacted to dodge that particular bullet. He’d used his powers perfectly, really. It was a masterful escape. “Ah, seriously. Who put that there?”

“Gon, probably.” Kite said it with such strange confidence. Killua considered it as he turned back to look at Mito, completely unwilling to watch when someone got kissed. He took the now-full cup from her, grinning thankfully and ignoring the returning sound of Gon’s gleeful laughter. “I’m sure he thought it would be fun.”

Gon had put the mistletoe up. That made sense, but it sucked. It wasn't as if he could rip Gon's lips off. He really, really didn't want to either. There was a lingering concern, though.

“He’s not tall enough to hang that,” Killua said suspiciously, leaning forward to snag a handful of what looked like caramel corn. Kite hummed at him in response, as if ceding that point while still certain of who the culprit was. Gon had sat on his shoulders when they were putting decorations up, rather than dragging a ladder out of storage and all around the bar. They’d traded off on it, but for the most part it had been Gon taping things to the walls. Someone else had to have helped him with it, if Gon was the one who had placed the mistletoe there. “Did he seriously dig the ladder out for that?”

“I wouldn’t underestimate him,” Kite replied, putting his hands in his pockets. Killua didn’t know what to say to him, really. The last time they had spoken, Kite had been human. He busied himself with eating the popcorn, unsure how to continue. “It’s good to see you doing well.”

“Yeah, you too.” Killua wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand, and he suspected Kite knew it was simply a way of hiding a little. His voice, his face, his body, they were all different. And yet, it only felt like he was standing next to the man who had started to teach him how to be a hunter. “I’m glad you came. Think Gon’s really happy to have everyone here.”

“Yes.”

“Er…” Killua ran his thumb across the edge of the cup of juice, staring down into it before setting it down and sighing. There was no point dancing around it, and from the look in his eyes, Kite knew it was coming. “Ah, forget it! Kite, I… I’m sorry! I made a really big mistake. I knew better, and I still let Gon think tha-”

“Everyone made mistakes.” Kite’s voice was surprisingly blunt. Killua’s shoulders jerked, and he made himself look at Kite once more. Despite that almost emotionless expression, he knew Kite was completely serious about it, even passionate. “You made a mistake by not telling Gon the truth. Gon made a mistake by lying to himself. I made a mistake by letting the two of you set foot onto that battlefield in the first place. Everything that happened was because of my lapse in ju-”

“You two, this is _not_ Christmas conversation.” Both of them glanced at Mito, and the firm set of her jaw was betrayed by the pain in her eyes. She’d found out the full extent of what had happened, right down to the terrifying conclusion. The sight from only a few days ago was suddenly vivid in his mind, and Killua gritted his teeth. He didn’t want to see her cry again.

“Ah.” Kite looked genuinely admonished, which was strange. He wondered if, rather than the sobbing thanks that he and Alluka had received from Mito, Kite had gotten quite a bit of shouting. It wasn’t as if Kite’s guilt was faked or coerced though. Killua remembered it perfectly well, the realization of Kite’s mistake.

“M-my bad,” Killua stammered, curling his toes in his shoes. “Sorry, Mito-san.”

Mito sighed, reaching across the counter to take his hand. Not for the first time, Killua wished that Mito was his mother as well as Gon’s. His life could have been softer, kinder. But then, if it had been, maybe he wouldn’t have been strong enough. “No, this is my problem. Killua, I know that almost everyone here was a part of… all of that. It’s selfish of me to ask that you don’t talk about it. I just think that… on a holiday like this, rather than dwelling on the things we did wrong, maybe it’s better if we think of the good things and enjoy spending time with each other.”

“I think she’s right,” a voice said from directly behind him. It was only his finely-trained nerves that kept Killua from leaping out of his skin. Mito, on the other hand, promptly knocked a pitcher over in shock at the sight of a bright-green man with a tail melting out of thin air. Everyone at the bar scrambled at once, scooping aside bowls as Mito grabbed the pitcher again and set it back upright.

“You gotta stop doing that, man,” Killua muttered, taking the roll of paper towels from Mito’s hands as soon as she pulled it out from behind the bar. Meleoron was actually blushing as he stuttered an apology, something he hadn’t realized the Ant could physically do. He couldn’t remember if he’d ever seen Meleoron flushed like that when he was out of breath from using his powers. But to be charitable to himself, he’d had a lot of other things to think about. Killua ripped off a huge handful of paper towels, throwing them down onto the spill. Everyone else had taken notice of it, based on the way Gon was running back to the bar.

“Mito-san, do you need help?” Gon leaned over the counter, his eyes wide. Alluka was padding over behind him, gripping her sleeves with both hands. Her face was a little red, Killua noted immediately, particularly her eyes and nose. Whatever she’d talked about with Palm had made her tear up, it seemed. A little sheepishly, he gave her back the cup of juice.

“No, Gon, we’re fine, thank you.” Almost as if it was a distraction, Mito handed her son a cookie shaped like a pine tree. Gon took it in a way that indicated he knew exactly what she was doing, but he took it nonetheless. It seemed like everyone in the room was immediately converging around the bar, despite Mito’s assurance. “Oh, goodness everyone, please don’t worry about it. It was just a little spill.”

“Got it under control,” Killua said confidently, holding the roll of paper towels up as if it was proof of how the situation was covered. Alluka giggled quietly, before seeming to lock on to Ikalgo. Trying not to groan, Killua turned his attention back to the rapidly-vanishing distraction of the mess. He loved Alluka with all his heart, and she was going to thank every person in the room who had ever helped him with anything, and he was going to be so embarrassed that he spontaneously combusted into a pile of ash. And then the ash would get embarrassed. He wadded up the wet paper towels, swapping them out for fresh ones. What had they even been talking about? “A-anyway, so…”

“Zushi, Merry Christmas!” Gon’s enthusiastic cry beat the reforming thought out of his head, and Killua abruptly dropped the roll of paper towels in favor of whipping around to face the doorway. Zushi was already waving, his eyes bright as he dashed through the doorway safely. Wing, standing behind him with a gift in his hands, was observant enough to take note of the mistletoe hanging there innocently. His eyes met Killua’s, and he could only shrug at his former teacher as if to say it wasn’t his idea.

“Gon-san! Ah, Killua-san too!” Zushi was taller than he remembered, Killua thought. His eyes were level with Gon’s, which was a far cry from the way things had been the last time they’d met. It really did seem like the other boy was catching up to them in that regard. He watched Gon clap hands with Zushi, padding over with his own hands firmly lodged in his pockets.

“Hey, Zushi. Holding up okay?” Once he was closer, Killua could tell that Zushi was definitely taller. The gap between them had shrunk significantly, at least when it came to height. He held a hand out, making a show of comparing their heights. “Whoa, you shot up like a weed. Gon’s only got you beat by a hair.”

“I think it would be a lot of hairs,” Zushi said, staring directly at the unchanging spikes of Gon’s hair. Killua snorted in laughter, slinging an arm around Gon’s shoulders. After a few seconds of staring, Zushi’s cheeks flushed a little. It seemed he hadn’t been intending to make a joke, and the realization had flustered him. “Oh. I, that is…”

“Well! Killua, I wouldn’t tease. What if some day Zushi’s taller than you are?” The idea made him scowl, and it was Gon’s turn to laugh. As loathe as he was to even think about it, the possibility was out there. It wasn’t as if he’d ever seen Zushi’s parents, if they existed. “Oh, Wing-san!”

Properly distracted, Gon handed him the cookie and darted off towards Wing and Bisky. It didn’t surprise him that the man had automatically gravitated towards his teacher. Killua stared at the cookie, before shrugging and shoving it in his mouth.

“Anyway,” he said, not caring about talking with his mouth full, “How’ve you been?”

“T-things have been okay,” Zushi stammered, seemingly unsure how to respond to his blatant lack of manners. What could he say? Gon had given him a cookie, so he’d eat it. “Um, that is to say, my training has been going very well! Though, I am… sure that it has not gone as well as yours and Gon-san’s.”

“Eh, who knows. Still working on a hatsu?” Zushi’s squared shoulders sank, and he sighed in agreement. Killua reached out to pat his back easily, jabbing a thumb back at Gon. “He took ages to figure out what he wanted to do, and longer to actually pull it off. Don’t worry about it, you’re not a huge idiot like Gon so I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

“Onii-chan!”

It seemed like Alluka had a sixth sense for when he was calling Gon names. He turned with a little guilt, grinning nervously as she puffed her cheeks out at him. If she’d stomped over, he never would have recovered, either from how cute it was or from how embarrassing it would be. She was going to chew him out in front of Zushi, Killua thought. Behind her, Killua could make out Meleoron handing a tissue to Ikalgo. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to know what had gotten the octopus so emotional, because it meant sorting through what he’d told Alluka about Ikalgo. His stories were backfiring on him, it seemed. God, but he loved her so much. That was why the pout on her face made him feel so bad.

“Yeah, what’s up? More juice?”

“No! Are you being mean to Gon-kun again?” Alluka didn’t quite believe him yet when he said he called Gon names in a nice way. Maybe it was because she hadn’t really seen Gon’s reactions to the jabs yet, or maybe it would continue even past the point where she’d witnessed Gon casually shrugging them off. But before she continued speaking, Alluka paused and brought her hands to her cheeks. “Oh! Um, hello.”

“U-um!” Zushi’s voice cracked, and Killua felt something he wasn’t sure he liked settle heavily in his stomach. “G-good, I mean, Merry Christmas!”

“Oh, that’s right! Merry Christmas! Gosh, I’m sorry. I’ve never been to a Christmas party before.” Alluka wrapped her arms around one of his, and Killua grinned a little. Zushi seemed genuinely startled to be seeing someone else their age, and he couldn’t help maliciously enjoying it for a moment. Alluka having the same reaction was a little less satisfying. Outside of their family and Gon, Killua didn’t think Alluka had ever met someone so close in age.

“Ah, this is Zushi.” Zushi nodded immediately, his cheeks reddening as he realized he’d failed to introduce himself. He opened his mouth as if to say something, before closing it again wordlessly. “Zushi, this is Alluka. Gon probably didn’t mention her, right? She’s my sister.”

“He, um… No, he did not. It is very nice to meet you!”  
  
“The same to you! My onii-chan said you fought in an arena together, I hope he wasn’t too mean to you.”

“M-mean…” Based on the way Zushi’s expression changed, he was vividly remembering the absolute shit-kicking that he’d been delivered. Killua looked away a little nervously, and Alluka squeezed his arm tighter like she could sense the guilt. “No, he was… We were opponents, there was nothing out of line with how Killua-san conducted himself in our match.”

“Yeah, it was just that you didn’t have a chance.” The words were out of his mouth before he’d really thought them out. Rather than fighting the reply, Zushi seemed to accept it as the unfortunate truth immediately. Killua clicked his tongue, waving the hand that Alluka wasn’t restraining. “I mean, since Wing forbade you from using ren at that point. If you’d been using aura with your strikes you would have flattened me, no matter how strong I was physically.”

Neither of them would mention the fact that Zushi had never been able to land a single blow on him.

“That may be,” Zushi said eventually, after looking for a moment as if he’d protest it. Killua was actually glad for it – for whatever reason, Zushi had been remarkably lacking in confidence when it came to himself and Gon. It seemed that while they were working through their problems, Zushi had made some progress with his own. “But it was a long time ago now.”

“Yeah, maybe. Maybe when you’ve got your hatsu worked out we can have a rematch. Ah, but don’t make something just to counter mine, that’s totally cheating.” The words made Zushi grin, and this time there wasn’t a hint of nervousness in it. Even if it was less intense compared to him and Gon, Zushi did have the same drive to win. One day they’d face off with the same tools in their arsenals, and then maybe things would end differently.

“ _Mistletoe!_ ” Gon’s delighted shout made it impossible to hear whatever Zushi started to say in reply. Above the laughter, Killua heard Leorio’s groan. He half-turned, laying eyes on the figures frozen in the doorway.

Suddenly, Killua had a feeling that this had been what Gon had been hoping for from the start.

“No,” Kurapika said immediately, before taking a step _out_ of the doorway and out from under the mistletoe. He was halted immediately by a hand snagging his, and the determined but despairing look in his eyes was actually a little funny. Senritsu clicked her tongue at him, glancing up at Leorio as if to recruit him into preventing Kurapika from ruining Christmas. Leorio let out a sigh that had to be for effect, lifting up his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose.

“It’s Christmas,” Leorio said, and though the words would have made him seem reluctant, his tone gave away that he wasn’t going to let Kurapika flee that easily. A split second of silence passed, with the three of them in some sort of strange two-versus-one standoff. If it had been anyone else, Kurapika would have won handily. But it wasn’t.

Unlike Leorio, when Kurapika sighed it was completely genuine. Senritsu’s expression softened into something that, on Killua’s own face, would have been smugness. On her, it seemed a lot more genuine.

“I suppose,” he said curtly, his professionalism betrayed by the way his cheeks were starting to flush. Kurapika knew there was no way he was getting out of it, and he was clearly cutting his losses. When Killua glanced back at Gon, he was unsurprised to see the other boy bouncing again in excitement. At the very least, he thought he owed it to Kurapika to make sure his embarrassment was as justified as possible.

“Come on, kiss her!”

“ _Killua!_ ”

“Yes, yes, you animals.” Though it seemed like he would do it without any fuss, the way Kurapika knelt to bring his lips to Senritsu’s was surprisingly elegant. It was brief and chaste, and despite how brief and chaste it was, Kurapika was clearly mortified to have it observed. Alluka let go of his arm to clap eagerly, and he found himself unbelievably proud of his little sister for making things more embarrassing to Kurapika. “There, are you ha-”

Kurapika’s words cut off abruptly when Leorio’s lips smashed against his cheek. Killua found himself wheezing with laughter as the other man took a palm to the face in response, completely unable to keep it inside. Rolling his eyes, Kurapika patted Leorio on the cheek before kissing his lips, just as quick as he had with Senritsu. Even having been unceremoniously smacked in the face, Leorio’s expression was smug and triumphant. By contrast, the kiss Leorio exchanged with Senritsu felt much more normal, like the peck on a lips a couple gave one another before leaving for work in the morning. Paying them no mind, Kurapika strode with admirable confidence to the bar and offered the wine bottle in his arms to Mito.

“Well, I guess that’s that,” Leorio said, before pointing directly at a beaming Gon. “You! This was your idea, wasn’t it?”

“Hmm, I wonder…” Gon’s grin widened, and without another word Leorio held his arms out. Killua found himself chuckling again as Leorio stumbled from the impact of Gon jumping on him. It was unbelievably cute, sending a weird, now-familiar warmth spreading through his chest. He just liked seeing everyone happy, probably, especially when it was Gon. And Gon was ecstatic to have Leorio spin him around like that, even though he was much too old to be picked up like a kid. Maybe it was okay. More than Kite, Leorio _looked_ the part of Gon’s father, even if the man would be almost as bad at it as Ging himself. Ging definitely wouldn’t show up, though. “Merry Christmas Leorio!”

“Yeah, yeah. Merry Christmas to you too, you devious little…” Gon let out a peal of laughter as Leorio kissed his cheek with a loud smack and set him down again. Smiling easily, Senritsu held up a gift bag. It seemed to surprise Gon, as if he hadn’t received something from everyone who had walked through the doorway. Leorio’s eyes locked on Killua, and his eyes seemed to sparkle once more. “Ah, Killua’s here too. Good, get over here!”

“No way, I don’t want your kisses! Gross, stay away.” Despite the words, he took a few steps forward to high-five Leorio easily. They were the last guests to arrive, as far as he knew. Gon had invited some others, but not everyone had been willing or able to come. It meant that would probably be the last mistletoe mishap, Killua thought. Again, he scanned the ceiling, and again he came up empty. It really seemed like, despite his paranoia, there was only one bunch of mistletoe present. “Gon, you totally set that up, right?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Gon said, completely failing to meet his eyes. He was one of the worst liars Killua had ever met, really. The only person who was on par with him was Alluka, who was also remarkably terrible at keeping secrets. “Oh, but that’s everyone isn’t it! Bisky’s here, and Wing-san and Zushi, Knuckle and Shoot and Palm and Meleoron and Ikalgo, Kite… Ah, and Killua and Alluka, too, obviously!”

“Ah, before I forget.” Leorio reached into his suit, pulling an envelope from one of the internal pockets of the jacket. Gon took it curiously, his tongue poking out as he carefully started to peel it open. It would be easier if he yanked it out of Gon’s hands and just used his claws, Killua thought, even though it didn't belong to him. But after a few agonizingly long seconds, Gon had gotten the letter open and was pulling out the card inside. “That was wedged in your mail box, seemed like you hadn’t seen it.”

“Oh,” he said dumbly, and Killua leaned over to look at what was written in the card. In fact, it was a fairly plain Christmas card, not even signed. Gon had pulled a check out of it, but he was holding it at such an angle that it was impossible to read how much money he’d just been handed. Flipping the envelope over, Gon hummed to himself. All that was on it was his name, neither his address nor a return address. It had been hand-delivered, then. “That’s…”

“Let me see,” Killua said, holding his hand out. An aura flared faintly, somewhere behind him, and he glanced back in time to see a champagne cork ricochet off the wall. Bisky’s howl of laughter told him that someone had been having trouble popping it. Clicking his tongue, he curled and uncurled his fingers as if to remind Gon that he’d asked for the card. Wordlessly, Gon dropped it into his hand. There was a lingering trace of aura clinging to the cardstock, and he narrowed his eyes as he channeled his own aura into them. There were a few letters scrawled on the card, invisible to anyone blind to nen. He overlooked the message entirely, looking instead for a signature and yet again finding none. Sighing, Killua opened his mouth. “Gon, it’s-”

“Oh, I already know.” Gon was remarkably cheerful about it, and Killua felt a twinge of happiness. He held the check up – it had the number for a hunter license on it rather than a signature. Instead than focusing on that, Killua stared at the sum written out on it. It seemed remarkably ordinary, given the sender. “It’s from Ging. I invited him, but I knew he wouldn’t come. I think it’s probably better that way, I don’t know what I’d do if Mito-san got really mad and fought with him!”

“Yeah, maybe. She’d win, though. Uh, there’s a message I mean, he didn’t sign it.” Gon hummed at him, plucking the card back out of his hands and tucking it and the check into the envelope once more. Killua squinted, knowing concretely that Gon hadn’t used gyo to read said message. “Aren’t you going to read it?”

“I will later,” Gon said easily, flipping the envelope over in his hands and just looking at it. “If I read it now, maybe it’ll be something I’ll want to do right away. That’s no good, since everyone just got here!”

“I guess that makes sense,” Killua said slowly, unsure how to feel about that. Would Ging’s message send his son on another wild chase around the world? The other boy had just barely managed to reclaim his nen. The idea of Gon running off all alone made his stomach feel queasy. He could just rip the card up, Killua thought, before banishing the mere concept. He had no right, and it wouldn’t destroy the message either. But mostly, he just had no right. “So what are you gonna spend it on?”

“I don’t know,” Gon admitted. Killua followed him over to the bar, watching as he walked behind it to tuck the card safely away on a shelf. Mito watched him do it, clearly not concerned that her uncontrollable child was about to start pulling down bottles, before returning to her conversation with Wing. “I should probably use it for something important, or save it?”

“It’s really not that much money, you know,” Killua sighed, putting his hands in his pockets. A good day at the Yorkshin Auction would have certainly netted them more, even without the help of someone like Zepile. If Gon had never left the island, though, it would have been more money than he’d ever dreamed of. “Snacks?”

“I’m not spending it on snacks!”

“I didn’t mean spending it on snacks, stupid! I just meant!” Killua sighed loudly, before pointing at the line of food spread out before them. “There’s snacks, on the bar, do you want some of them?”

“Oh!” Gon clapped his hands to his mouth, giggling immediately. “Well, maybe.”

Rolling his eyes, Killua flung a piece of popcorn towards Gon. The other boy snatched it out of the air instinctively, before making a face. When he opened his hand, Killua noted with some amusement that the popcorn was completely crushed. Gon ate it anyway, before reaching for some more. Part of him wished Gon would just let him keep chucking popcorn into his mouth instead.

“Oh, look how neat it is!” Alluka’s surprised gasp made him turn, and Killua took a deep breath at the sight of one of the most intricate cakes he’d ever laid eyes on. The cake itself was two-tiered, shaped like a massive snowflake and smoothly iced with pure white frosting. With hands that would only be that steady with nen, Wing lifted it out of the box and set the tray on the table. Surrounded by healthy snacks, it looked truly out of place. “That’s amazing!”

“What the hell, that’s intense,” Killua said immediately, abandoning his train of thought in favor of walking over to the cake. Bisky put her hands on her hips, smiling proudly. After staring at her for a moment, Killua shook his head. “There’s no way you made that.”

“How rude!” Bisky’s hand found his cheek, pinching it and yanking him forward. Killua yelped, stumbling helplessly in her iron grip. It was what he got for sassing her, probably, but it still hurt like hell. As soon as she let go of him, he rubbed his cheek sullenly. “I’ll have you know I’m an excellent chef, pastries included!”

“Ehhh…” It was clear from his tone that, despite the response his sarcasm had gotten, he didn’t believe her in the slightest. They glared at each other for a moment, before Bisky’s expression turned into something closer to a pout.

“Wing made it,” she said reluctantly, and every head in the room turned to look at the man. Wing was smiling serenely, and he didn’t open his eyes as he adjusted his glasses. Scowling, Bisky turned away from him and put her hands back on her hips.

“I did learn to bake from someone, you know,” Wing replied graciously, which was a concession that Killua wasn’t sure Bisky deserved. “Zushi helped me with the icing.”

Zushi flushed, looking down at his feet immediately. Clearly he didn’t consider it to be a very impressive addition. But Gon was leaning forward, tilting his head as if to take in every angle of the cake. He was cute like that, awestruck over a cake. Then again, Gon was always cute.

“It looks so good,” he sighed, running his finger along the edge of the tray. If it was up to Gon, he thought the cake would already be divvied up between them. If it was up to _him_ , the cake would just be his. “Ah, but isn’t it too early for cake?”

“Time’s fake,” Killua muttered, before receiving a half-dozen annoyed-yet-knowing stares. A hand dropped onto his shoulder as if to comfort him for the denial of sweets, and Killua sighed. He didn’t know who it belonged to until a second floated up to hand him a fresh cup of cider. “Thanks, Shoot.”

“Don’t mention it,” Shoot said easily. Exactly no one commented on the sudden appearance of several disembodied hands. Mito stared for a moment, before shaking her head as if to shrug it off. She was getting used to the concept of nen very quickly, all things considered. By his own admission, Gon mostly kept it out of the house, but now there were only two people in the room who _couldn’t_ use the stuff and Alluka was familiar enough with strange phenomenon that it didn’t faze her at all. Mito was pulling through with an incredible strength, really.

“Okay,” Mito said, setting a stack of cups down on the bar, “Who else would like something to drink?”

Once drinks had been handed out, everyone seemed to disperse quite naturally throughout the bar. Killua sighed, scratching the back of his head as he wandered over to Kurapika. He seemed to have recovered completely from the mistletoe, speaking coolly with Kite.

“It was honestly an unavoidable outcome,” Kurapika was saying, rubbing his forearm with one hand. He didn’t know what “it” was, but it probably didn’t matter. “The fact of the matter was, as Zodiac members Leorio and I have a certain degree of responsibility to maintain a respectable and reliable image as well as a work ethic. Some members, and… Former members, choose to abandon said responsibility as I’m sure you’re aware.”

That seemed to be blatant code for “Ging Freecss”, and Killua smirked to himself.

“Understandable. I know that Cheadle is still learning how to handle things as such a notable authority figure, and I’d imagine your experience with the Nostrade family has been invaluable to her.” They were going to talk politics, Killua realized. Part of him knew he should pay attention for his own sake, but most of him was already flinching backwards in boredom. He met Kite’s eyes briefly, before the Ant turned his attention back to the conversation.

“I appreciate the compliment, but the circumstances are quite different actually. Compared to myself, the Chairman is a much more public figure. At least, this is how Cheadle has chosen to be as Chairman. I understand that Chairman Netero was slightly more reclusive both physically and in regards to his policies, but Chairman Yorkshire has pledged to be more transparent as a leader. I can’t say whether or not this is a wise choice on her part.”

Closing his eyes, Killua turned and walked away, ignoring Kite’s very quiet snort of laughter. There had to be a better conversation to eavesdrop on and potentially join. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gon miming a punch as he chattered eagerly to Alluka and Zushi. Zushi was nodding with complete understanding, telling him that whatever they were talking about had to do with nen. That was something he could definitely get in on, Killua thought. He snagged another cookie from the bar, before failing his attempt to sneak past Bisky.

“Killua, come here.” There was no avoiding that tone, and Killua tensed his shoulders as one of Bisky’s hands landed on them. He bit his lower lip, looking longingly towards Gon before being turned away. “Oh, don’t be so dramatic. I want to talk to you about something.”

“Yeah,” Killua said dully, slipping his hands into his pockets. Despite his disparaging attitude, Bisky actually looked a little concerned. Furrowing his eyebrows, he frowned at her. “Okay, what’s up?”

“Your sister told me something,” Bisky started, and Killua felt his face heat immediately. “No, it’s nothing bad. Well, she told me quite a few things, but…”

Killua wasn’t sure that he liked the look in Bisky’s eyes. There was something regretful there, and he took a deep breath. Whether he liked it or not, things were about to get complicated. “Yeah, she does that.”

“I have to apologize to you,” she said finally, and the reluctance in her voice was for the action, not the admission of the mistake. “I didn’t understand something very important, and I said something to you that was very cruel.”

“Tell me about it,” Killua drawled, unable to help himself. Maybe he just wanted to derail the conversation, because he suspected he knew exactly what cruel thing she had said to him. It was the only thing she’d done that had ever actually hurt him, after all. “You’re mean to me all the time, it’s like your thing. You beat me up too, it’s so uncool.”

“Don’t be cheeky with me, you. I must be losing my touch, really. Ten years ago, I would have…” For a moment, Bisky’s expression was genuinely pained. “As your teacher, I should have paid better attention to you. My students, _all_ of my students and even when they’re cheeky, are my responsibility to keep safe.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

“Killua, I’m being serious with you.”

“I know,” Killua said quietly, and Bisky’s expression softened. She sighed quietly, bringing a hand up to his cheek in a way that was, really, not unlike a mother. If his own mother had done it, he would have slapped her hand away in an instant. Bisky, though… Bisky’s hand felt okay against his skin.

“If I had been paying more attention to you, I would have noticed what was embedded in your skull.” Killua couldn’t meet her eyes. He was afraid to see pity there, even knowing it didn’t exist. “I failed you as your teacher. It should have been _easy_ for me to notice a nen construct like that, and I didn’t.”

“No one else did either,” Killua said finally, running his thumb across his knuckles. “No one thought to look. Why would they? It was… you know, it was really subtle. Anyway, I’m… I’m over it. I’m okay, you know? It takes a lot more than an old lady badmouthing me to get me down.”

“Oh, you are very lucky that it’s Christmas.”

“Bisky, uh…” Killua’s face heated again, but he made himself meet her eyes. “Thanks. For everything, I mean.”

There was a loud pop, and a solid orange burst of nen shot across the room. It rocked one of the many garlands, and both Killua and Bisky whipped their heads around to look at Gon. The boy grinned sheepishly, withdrawing his outstretched hand.

“Sorry,” he said, scratching his cheek. Kite was covering his eyes with one hand, a clear expression of how he felt about what had just happened. Zushi had his mouth hanging open, and it wasn’t until Wing patted him on the shoulder that he noticed and closed it again. “I just, er… Well… Sorry, I could have just said I can still do it instead of. Doing it.”

“My bad,” Knuckle added, a bead of sweat rolling down his face. The force of the projected nen had clearly startled him and Gon both. “I asked.”

Killua sighed. Palm was looking behind them, where the compressed ball of aura had popped harmlessly. Making sure there was no damage to the wall, probably. More interesting was the way Mito stalked over to her son with her hands on her hips, clearly displeased with the action.

“Gon,” she started, and Gon closed his eyes with an expression that gave away his awareness of his impending scolding. “What do you think you are doing?”  
“Um… Knuckle asked, er…”

“I asked Gon if his nen was up to snu- if he’d regained the control of his aura that he previously demonstrated. Ma’am.” The way Knuckle verbally backpedaled was actually stunning. Killua wondered how terrifying Knuckle’s mother was, before deciding he really didn’t want to know.

“That’s all very nice, but no reason for him to demonstrate.”

“Sorry, Mito-san,” Gon mumbled, and he sighed when his mother smoothed his hair back and kissed his forehead.

“You get one pass,” Mito said firmly, and Gon’s resulting smile was remarkably dopey. “Because it’s Christmas.”

“Okay, understood!” There was a soft whispering noise behind him as the garland finally detached from the wall and slid to the ground. The way Gon’s expression faltered was pretty funny, all things considered. He brought one hand up to rub the back of his neck, his grin turning nervous once more. “Oh.”

“I got you, Gon,” Knuckle muttered with surprising determination. Killua watched with complete delight as Gon realized what that meant, and the other boy laughed as Knuckle grabbed him under the arms and lifted him up like he weighed absolutely nothing at all. Gon wasn’t the only one to laugh, and Killua glanced around the room with amusement to see practically everyone failing to contain their mirth. Bisky didn’t even try, nor did Leorio or Alluka. But it was nice in particular to see the way Kurapika held his hand up to his lips, his mouth half-hidden. He hadn’t realized it until it was back, but Killua had truly missed the sight of the man’s smile.

Once the garland was firmly affixed to the wall, Gon was deposited steadily on the ground once more. “Sorry everyone,” he said again, clapping his hands together in front of his face. “I won’t do it again, I promise!”

True to his word, Gon’s enthusiasm caused no more chaos that evening. It wasn’t as if he calmed down in particular, but at the very least, no one flagrantly misused their nen. That wasn’t to say no one used it in general, more that there was no more destruction from it. Somehow, the mood in the room seemed even cheerier because of it. Weirdly enough, nen really had brought so many of them together in some way. If not for it, he thought wouldn’t have met more than half the people there.

That, logically, made it totally fine to wreak some harmless havoc with it.

Killua took a special delight in administering crackling static shocks to basically whoever he could land them on, particularly Leorio. There was an element of hilarity to the way the man fended him off, holding his hands up like a shield and even creating some more out of his aura in order to help. It was totally useless of course, but the effort was quite admirable nonetheless. He didn’t knock it off until Alluka scolded him for it, though he snuck one more in on Knuckle as retribution for his laughter.

Killua thought he hid pretty well how happy he was to see his little sister having fun. It came a little at his expense, but he didn’t care. Most of the stories that he overheard being told weren’t actually that embarrassing, though he knew Bisky had shared some choice details about him that he wished she would have kept to herself. Still, the way laughter sounded in the room, the way different, happy parts of everyone’s pasts were being shared, made him feel surprisingly okay with it.

The party was in full swing at that point, everyone who knew each other or of each other conversing easily. The low murmur of voices had filled the room, punctuated occasionally by raucous laughter. Gon wasn’t the only one to patrol the room, bouncing from conversation to conversation. Everyone there was someone they’d met on their adventure, after all, so everyone there was someone he knew as well. Killua felt good about it.

It felt odd, but nice, to be in a room full of friends. Even if Gon kept shooting him glances that were a little weird.

The cake was cut into eventually by Mito’s steady hand, after Wing cheerfully admitted his lack of confidence in his ability to divide it into equal pieces. Killua thought he would have been okay with taking a piece that was bigger than the rest, though. It was a rich chocolate, to his delight. And it was _good_ , furthering his doubt that Bisky had been involved at all in Wing’s baking history. He didn’t voice said doubt, both for Bisky’s sake and to avoid the palm of her hand. Instead, Killua merely shoveled cake into his mouth as gracelessly as possible, only stopping in the face of both Alluka and Gon pouting at him for it. There was no escaping it when they ganged up on him like that.

Eventually, though, Killua realized he’d made a full circuit of the bar, returning to near the counter itself. Again, Gon’s eyes landed on him, and it wasn’t until the other boy disengaged from speaking with Palm – despite knowing that situation had ended, it still made him a little nervous to see Gon smiling with her – that Killua realized Gon had been wanting to talk to him all along.

“Um, sorry, Ikalgo… Can I steal Killua for a minute?” Somehow, Ikalgo seemed to catch on immediately that whatever Gon wanted was actually a bit serious. That had a strange nervousness building in him, despite his attempts to squash it down.

“Sorry, I guess I’m getting nabbed,” Killua said casually, and it was enough to lighten the sudden bizarre mood. Ikalgo chuckled at him, holding up a tentacle for a high-five. It wasn’t actually a high-five, Killua thought inanely, but he didn’t know what else to call it. It wasn’t as if Ikalgo had fingers. “I’ll talk to you whenever he’s done babbling at me, okay?”

“You’re good,” Ikalgo told him, turning away with a seriousness that was clearly for show. He was trying to be cool, and Killua snorted into his palm as Ikalgo waved a tentacle at him without looking back. He wanted to yell “Don’t pretend!” at the Ant, but Gon’s hand on his sleeve silenced him.

“Killua, I wanted to ask… Er… When Christmas is over… The new year, I mean! I wanted to know, what you and Alluka were planning on doing.” That explained Gon’s hesitance, then. Killua thought about the question for a moment, chewing on his lower lip. What _was_ he planning on doing? They always sort of went with the flow, to some degree. Did he have an answer to Gon’s question?

“I don’t actually know,” Killua admitted, setting his drink down. The fact that Gon had asked meant he had something else in mind. Squinting in suspicion, Killua shrugged at Gon. “We kinda wing things, you know? I don’t… You know, I figured I’d get it sorted out before we left the island, I guess.”

“Oh. Killua, I thought maybe… It’d be nice, if you stayed with us a little longer?” It wasn’t something that deserved the level of anxiousness Gon was displaying, but he barely registered that. The question made him happy, was all. It _would_ be nice to stay with Gon a little longer. Though he was bad at admitting it, he did miss Gon terribly. But he was worried, Killua thought. He was worried that if they spent too much time together, they’d either fall back into patterns that had turned out to be bad, or he’d do something that he’d regret. Maybe both. It was a little strange to consider, but maybe Gon was worried about the same thing. “If you want, I mean. And Alluka too! O-obviously.”

Gon had stuttered. That was cute, undeniably so.

“I mean, I… Yeah, I mean. We could do that. If you’re so desperate not to let me go, I mean.”

Gon laughed at that, but something in his eyes made Killua wonder if he’d hit too close to home. The weird feeling in his stomach was back, a mixture of the warmth he’d felt at seeing Gon laughing with Leorio and something more nervous. It was the same thing that had happened when he’d seen Gon for the first time in over a year, a queasy happiness. Did Gon not want him to leave?

“That’d be fun, though, wouldn’t it? I… didn’t realize how much I missed Killua, I guess. Not until you came here again. I thought, I wanted to have fun with you again. On the island, and… Killua, I know that things were… At the, the end, they were really…”

Killua cleared his throat, taking a quick glance around him before biting his lip. The way the conversation might go, in a room full of people, had him scared. Even though they were a little secluded, at the corner of the bar, it wasn’t as if they had genuine privacy.

“No, shut up. Your mom said something earlier that I think was… you know, it was really smart. Unlike you, Mito-san’s really smart all the time.” Gon accepted the jab with grace, just closing his eyes in mild discomfort rather than actually getting mad or being hurt. If Gon really hated it, he would have said so a long time ago. He would have said it years ago, before he’d turned so strangely restrained. Maybe it wasn’t that strange, though. They’d made mistakes. “Anyway, she said that… Basically, that for tonight it’s better to think about the good stuff instead of dwelling on all the things we messed up on.”

“Oh,” Gon said quietly, before nodding in complete understanding. It wasn’t him pushing the conversation away entirely, just postponing it. Killua knew that Gon wouldn’t let him run away from it, but it was okay to shelve it for now and bring it back out another day. “That’s right, isn’t it? It’s Christmas, so we should just… Have fun.”

Killua felt his stomach lurch when Gon’s hands found his, lacing their fingers together. The gesture was so uncharacteristically intimate, nothing like the high-fives and back pats and rough hugs that had filled their lives together. Gon had never held his hand before, and certainly not like this.

It was… nice. He didn’t want Gon to let go. Even if someone looked at them, he didn’t want Gon to let go.

“We’ll figure it out,” Killua murmured, squeezing Gon’s fingers in his. Gon squeezed back immediately, and his grin was more happy than pained. They’d figure it out. Things wouldn’t go back to the way they’d been. He didn’t think those times could ever come back. It was okay, though. They’d needed the space to heal, and so maybe the pieces that had shattered no longer fit together perfectly.

Before, if they’d tried to force things back to normal, it would have been like jamming them together and everything would certainly have broken apart in ways that could never be fixed. The pieces that had linked so perfectly had grown and withered and changed, different but still so much the same. Just like them, really.

“Yeah. We will.”

They could make new pieces.

Gon lowered their joined hands, but to Killua’s genuine relief he didn’t let go. He ran his thumbs over Gon’s, just looking at him for a long moment. The smile on Gon’s face when he glanced back up was so honest and unrestrained that he just wanted to throw his arms around the other boy and never let go. They were in a room full of people, a room full of friends, but in that moment it was just him and Gon.

“Killua,” Gon said finally, a little loudly, and he followed Gon’s gaze as if instinctively. For a moment Killua didn’t know what he was looking at, and then he felt his entire face heat as a frantic mixture of emotions suddenly warred inside of him. Frustration, intense embarrassment, comprehension, acceptance, and an overwhelming happiness that finally explained something he hadn’t before understood.

The garland attached to the wall above him was the one that had fallen down earlier, and it wasn’t until that moment that he realized Gon’s Jajanken mishap hadn’t been a mishap at all. Taped firmly to the wall there, hidden by the garland itself to anyone but them, was the second bundle of mistletoe he’d been searching for all evening. Killua hadn’t seen it before, because until Gon had knocked the decoration down it hadn’t existed anywhere but in Gon’s pocket.

“You…” he started, and to his delight Gon was just as red in the face as he was. How long had Gon waited for him to walk back to the bar? No wonder the other boy had been searching for him in the group all evening. Leorio had been right – Gon was devious. But his irritation was, now at least, entirely faked and Gon knew it. In that moment, Killua understood something else quite well.

It had never been that he didn’t want to be caught under the mistletoe. He just hadn’t wanted it to be by anyone but Gon.

“Sorry,” Gon laughed, letting go of his hands to bring both of his own to cup his jaw. There wasn’t really anything for him to apologize for, though. Gon’s hands on his jaw and neck were warm, and he liked it. He liked Gon, and he finally understood exactly what kind of liking it was. “I guess I tricked you, Killua.”

“Idiot,” Killua mumbled. He didn’t want to give Gon the satisfaction, he realized. Though Gon had definitely tricked him into it, he wasn’t mad. There was just no way he would let everything be on Gon’s terms. “You’re a hundred years too early to try that.”

Without giving him a chance to react, in a room full of people that was now only him and Gon, Killua snatched Gon’s cheeks between his hands and smashed their lips together.

Gon opened his mouth in surprise, having clearly expected to be the one doing the kissing. Killua took his chances with it immediately. It was best to go with the moment, and the moment told him to take the opportunity Gon gave him. Because Gon was kissing him back eagerly, clumsy as it was. Gon’s lips were chapped and the lingering taste of cake and apple cider was on his tongue, and everything was, for an instant, just right. They were so bad at it, their noses bumping together, a muscle twitching in his neck as he tilted his head, but that made it wonderful. Gon was as terrible at it as he was, but they were still there, kissing under the mistletoe and basking in the moment.

It had to end eventually, with the strained muscle in his neck and shoulder starting to ache enough to make him pull away. Gon sighed almost dreamily, and Killua wiped at his mouth with faint embarrassment. At some point Gon’s hands had slid down to his chest to hold on to his shirt, and he could feel Gon’s palm against his racing heart. He wanted to kiss Gon again, to pin him to the wall and just kiss him until neither of them could breathe. That would be okay, wouldn’t it? It wasn’t as if…

Abruptly, Killua remembered that although it had felt like they were, they were not in fact the only people in the room. He whipped his head around, feeling his entire body burning red-hot, and the sea of pointedly-averted faces told him every single person at the party had just seen him kiss Gon. Zushi was red to the tips of his ears, and Alluka was even covering her eyes with her hands.

For a scant few seconds that felt like hours, Killua had no idea how to respond. Literally everyone in the room had watched him do that. How had he forgotten where they were so easily? What the ever-loving fuck could be possibly do to recover from what had just happened? Killua closed his eyes, knowing that his expression screamed of mortification.

Then, without any ceremony, he clambered up onto an unsuspecting Gon’s shoulders, yanked the mistletoe down, and promptly ate it.

“No one else gets to do that,” he said bluntly, and Gon then was bursting into such unrestrained laughter that Killua thought he might topple onto the floor. He made no move to get down, just resting his elbows on the top of Gon’s head and flattening his hair down. It foiled Gon’s attempt to look up at him, and Killua didn’t care. “Gon, take me to the snacks.”

“Okay!” As if he didn’t know what else to do, Gon laughed again. After a moment, his giggles trailed off to leave them all in a silence that was somehow good-natured. “Um, Merry Christmas!”

Killua ran his hands through Gon’s hair, tugging his head back so that he could gaze down at the other boy. Christmas had turned out to be a romantic holiday in the end, he guessed. It was okay. This time, he didn’t mind it at all.

“Merry Christmas, Gon.”


End file.
